


Living Through Time

by Stuppnow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Past Character Death, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Presumed Dead, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:08:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25991098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stuppnow/pseuds/Stuppnow
Summary: Shisui didn't actually die the day he jumped from that cliff. True, he was dead, but his soul stayed in the world of living.He saw every single person dear to him die. And now he is stuck in a world where only one surviver remains from the fourth great shinobi war.What would happen if, out of the blue, he get a chance to undo everything and save everyone?
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Sasuke & Uchiha Shisui
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally uploaded on Wattpad, but since I’ve manage to create an account here why not simply use it
> 
> This fanfic isn’t finished and I’m currently working chapter 6 
> 
> The first two chapters are kinda short, they get progressively longer as the story takes place

Shisui had lost hope.

It wasn't something so hard to understand, it's not like he was thinking there was a way out to this disaster in the first place.

He knew he was hopeless, he had always knew it. But before, he had at least a small, tiny flicker of hope that everything would be alright, that this world wasn't this fuck up. That there was still a chance.

God, how he wish he wasn't so naive.

If he didn't, he wouldn't be feeling so empty right now.

The moment he jumped, years ago, from that cliff to help Itachi gain the mangekyō sharingan, he never thought, even in his worst nightmares, that his soul would stay in the land of living. That he would witness every.single.thing. that lead to humanity's downfall. That he would be stuck, watching all his family, friends and comrades perish one at the time. 

Uchiha clan massacre.  
Orochimaru's invasion.  
And the worst of all:  
The fourth great shinobi war.

He hated it.  
With every fiber of his being.

He hated seeing the way people died for a dream that meant nothing. Seeing their friends and family not having the time to properly mourn their death because of how fast other close ones died in this horrible war. He hated how children were thrown in the mixt because of the lack of soldiers. 

He hated when he saw in their eyes the realization that they were fighting for a lost cause.

He hated it because it hurts so much.

And yet, at that time, he still believed that everything would turn all right.

Haha,  
How pathetic.

•*•*•*•

One surviver.

There was one survivor.

Just one.

Uzumaki Naruto

Shisui release a humorless laugh, it was truly ironic. Out of all people, Naruto was the person he could understand the most. They were similar, after all.

Both were dreamers that end up loosing hope.

He wasn't gonna lie, Naruto was probably the only reason Shisui didn't turn out insane.

His cheerful persona had always managed to give him— no, everyone hope for the futur, a reason to continue fighting, a reason to continue living.

But even that big ball of sunshine has lost its light. 

Now, standing in a field covered by the corpses of his dearest friends and comrades, Shisui could see it.

It wasn't shocking. It would be strange if he saw Naruto jump in joy once defeating Kaguya. He was alone now, he won the war, there is no reason to fight anymore.

What worried Shisui was that Naruto hasn't moved from his spot in days. He had a blank look, void of all hope, of all light. Like Shisui's.

Shisui floated to sit right next to the seventh Hokage, sharingan never desactivated since the day he died, making all the horrors of war forever ingraved in his brain. He glance up, staring at the man he had come to respect, watching just how tired of everything he seems.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, mind drifting into space. One not knowing of the presence of the other.

Then Naruto slowly stood up.

"I'm sorry" Was the quiet whisper of the said man.

Shisui knew what he meant, those were the words of someone completely broken that was apologizing to everyone that sacrificed themselves for nothing. And deep down, Shisui knew that a part of Naruto felt responsable for this, because he too feel like that.

'At least Naruto helped. I did nothing.' Thought Shisui bitterly. One the inside, he felt like a failure. Every instinct in him told him to fight, yet he couldn't do anything except watch everyone he has come to appreciate die. 

He had felt so useless.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small shift of clothing besides him. He watched as Naruto, with the most lifeless look Shisui has ever seen one him, pick up a random kunai that was tossed on the floor from the battle days ago.

He saw Naruto's dead eyes staring at his reflection one the kunai. Shisui knew where this was going, he didn't care though. If he could find a way to end this nightmare, he would do it. Alas, ghost can't die.

The only sad thing, in Shisui's mind, is that he will be stuck alone in this place for the end of time. But even if he forced himself, he just couldn't find in him the will to think of anything out of this situation.

He gave up, everything was horrible and he finally has accepted it.

He watched silently as the last living person on Earth stab himself to death. Unconsciously leaving his suicide imprinted in the Uchiha's memories.

Now Shisui was truly alone, in a world devoid of hope.


	2. A chance to go back

Shisui didn't know how much time he stayed sitting like that.

Probably months, seeing as the corpse were now just pack of bones on the floor.

He didn't move from his spot since Naruto's death.

Why would he? There wasn't anything else to watch. No humanity. Just the remains of the people who once fought for peace.

With all this time, he thought of all the mistakes that lead to this moment. Memories were the only thing he has now, so he just pass the time by remembering them.

"Oh my! What are you doing here, child?" A voice asked, obviously referring to Shisui.

It should have been a surprise that someone was there, and even more that someone was able to see him, but Shisui made no sign to acknowledge the voice. 

He didn't care.

"And here I thought I could have a friendly chat with someone." the person sighed, standing a few meters away from him. The figure looked at the destruction and corpses surrounding them, before letting his gaze rest on the teen.

"This world truly took a turn to the worst, I would have never imagined that human would all perish. That was certainly... surprising. Isn't it, Uchiha Shisui?" The figure stated with a calming and somewhat soothing voice.

How the man knew his name? Shisui had no idea. 

But did he care? Nope.

He didn't even spare the man a glance. He already knew that humanity was dead, he had watched it die before his very own eyes. 

Talk about stating the obvious. 

"I'm sorry you had to watch that, Shisui." The man continued,"But I had a feeling something like that would happen, so I wanted you to see.".

Okay, that made Shisui look at him. 

So he was the one who made him watch all the world die little by little? If he was the same person he was years ago, he would have screamed in the face of the man, demanding a reason to do that.

But he was so tired, that he only found the strength in himself to ask a single question, voice devoid of emotion:

"Why?"

A few seconds pass, letting the question take its meaning. The man knew what he was talking about, but still wanted the teen to explain.

"Why what, Shisui?".

Shisui just stared at the man, with those tired, bottomless black eyes. He didn't respond immediately. And just when the older one thought he would remain silent, the teen spoke.

"What I meant is why would you do that? I don't see any reason to make me watch all these things." Shisui's eyes grow colder,"And if all of this was supposed to be a joke, it's not funny."

"Woah! Eh! I didn't do it for fun! I promise you, there is a reason for that." 

"Then what is?" He responded bluntly.

The man turned, back facing Shisui. His voice was very soft, saturated with remorse. So much that it made Shisui feeling a bit uncomfortable. He said. "To explain everything to you, I guess I have to start at the beginning. Shisui, do you have any idea of who I am?"

"No." Well, the response was simple.

" Very well, then I shall introduce myself. " The man offered a small smile to the other." Hello Shisui, I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki, or mostly known as the Sage of Six Paths. I am happy to finally meet you."

That wasn't what he expected, but after everything he saw, he was pretty sure anything was possible.

He didn't found the need to introduce himself in return. The sage already knew who he was, and Shisui didn't really want to talk to anyone right now.

On the other hand, the curious part of him was confused on what he did to make the sage want to meet him.

Still, Hagoromo was rewarded by silence. 

The man sighed." You know, it's common curtesy to introduce yourself after someone did."

Still silence.

"Ok! Ok! Geez! You could at least show some kind of respect. I am the Sage of Six Paths after all!"

In the far distance, you could hear the sounds of crickets.

Hagoromo pinched his nose in frustration, 'Young people with their respects for the elders' he thought. But he remembered why he was here, and it really wasn't the time to play around.

"Shisui, the reason you stayed here after your death was for you to see the mistakes and fix them." 

Now, Shisui was very confused. "What do you mean by that?" He found himself strangely asking. 'Fix? Does he means tha- No! It's not possible.'

The Sage stared at Shisui. It might be his imagination, but he saw a small flicker of something inside the blank eyes of the teen.

It made him feel hopeful.

He never wanted to make the other one suffer as much as he did, but if it was the price to pay for saving the futur, he had to take it.

"I'm gonna tell you the reason your soul stayed here." He saw Shisui slightly nod his head to show he was listening. Good, he was paying attention.

" It is quite a long story, so I will try to explain it quickly." Again, a small nod. With a sigh, the sage began to explain. "It started years ago, a bit before the Uchiha massacre."

He saw the Uchiha slightly cringe at the reminder of that. Nonetheless, he continued. "I got this... vision... of an horrible disaster that would send major repercussions on humanity."

"You got visions of the war." It was stated like a fact. A firm, blunt and cold fact.

The sage gave a small smile."Yes, it was. I never thought it would be this bad. So I only changed one thing, and let the time pass thinking that humans could manage themselves without my help."

"Well obviously it didn't work. At all." 

The sage wisely chose to ignore the comment. "Still, the reincarnation of my sons were there, so I believed that whatever would happen was going to sort out with time." With a glance around, he added."As we can see, it didn't."

"That doesn't explain why I'm here." Came the oh so cheerful replie from Shisui.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Hagomoro was starting to feel a little frustrated by the teen, but decided to draw the inner peace and love from his heart to stay calm. 

It might be a good idea to stop beating around the bush.

It would be hard to say, but he has to. 'The boy has the right to know'. And that was true.

With regret in his eyes, the sage said, "I'm sorry that this has to be that way, Shisui. When I received the vision, I didn't think much of it, but I still decided to prepare something in case the worst possible outcome happen."

He took a step forward, making the younger one concentrate on each word he was saying. Whatever the Sage was talking about, he knew it was important.

So, with an impassive face, he listened attentively. He didn't felt like doing so, the idea of being alone in his misery far more appealing than listening to an old fart explaining why he made him go through all this torture. 

But still, he listened.

"What I did is not something I'm proud of. I chose someone that will be able to witness every mistakes and fix them when given the chance." Hagoromo said, gazing at Shisui with pity.

Oh how much he hated this pity.  
But why feel mad? 

It's not like he care anyway.

"You chose me." Muttered Shisui, voice sharp and blunt. "Why me?"

Hagoromo wasn't shocked by his tone. The reaction was certainly better than what he thought it would be. In truth, he expected yelling and cursing so he was quite satisfied. 

"I chose you because you were and still are one of the people who care the most about peace. You killed yourself to help a friend and your village. And I know that, deep down, you want to help. You always wanted to help. That's just your nature." Shisui's gaze refused to meet his eyes, but the sage continued, knowing that he stuck a cord somewhere inside the young one.

"I chose you because I knew that you would always care about peace." He took a deep breath, finishing what he started. "So, I want to ask you one thing, and one thing only. I don't doubt that what you saw was horrible and that you want to end it all. So if you refuse, I will understand."

He stoped, wanting to make the question loud and clear.

"Shisui, do you want to save the world and rewrite the future?"

"Yes."

Shisui didn't even took the time to think about it. The response was spontaneous. If he could do anything to make the world like it used to be, he would do it.

He still cared about the world. 

He knew that maybe he wasn't in the right state of mind right now. He was so so so tired. Tired of life, tired of everything. His mind was scarred, probably beyond repair, 

but he didn't care.

He didn't care that he knew it would hurt, because he didn't care about himself in the first place. If there was a way to make this world a peaceful place again, he would sacrifice everything for it. To make the people he has come to admire happy.

And after, he could die peacefully without regrets to haunt him each day of his existence.

So, with a small spark of determination and hope in his lifeless eyes, staring full force Uchiha style, he repeated.

"Yes. I accept."

Hagoromo chuckled. He somewhat knew the boy was going to agree, and wished from the bottom of his heart that everything would be okay and that this child would found happiness somewhere in the future.

"Shisui, I will send you some time before the Academy graduation of the rookie 9. You have one chance to make everything right. I trust you so use your knowledge for the greater good" He informed with a small smile, approaching the teen enough that he was at arm length.

He would have squeezed his shoulders in a sign of encouragement, but stopped himself once he remembered that Shisui was a ghost.

So, with a last little chuckle, he did the handsigns for his justu, whispering a quiet 'good luck' before—

Whoooooosh!!!

—Shisui was send to the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omfg how am I supposed to put italic or bold letters here?? I’m screwed! Every dialogue the Sage did was supposed to be in BOLD! Nooooo! I can’t omg whyyy


	3. Waking up

'Ugh... my head.'

It was the first thought the Uchiha had once waking up. Eyes still closed, not wanting to be opened yet, he listened to the sweet melody of nature.

'Wait, nature?!' He immediately sit up, wincing at the sudden headache he got from doing so. It was the first time in years he felt pain, making him even more confused than before.

He looked around, instead of seeing a war zone filled with corpses, he was met with a peaceful forest overflowing with life. 

Birds were chirping.  
Flowers were blooming.  
As if nothing ever happened.

Then he remembered.

The Sage, the talk, going in the past, a justu...

He was alive, everyone was alive. Literally nothing has ever happened.

Yet.

He stayed like that, enjoying the warmth of the sun delicately touching his skin, the feeling of the grass softly caressing his hands and the calm breeze gently messing his curly hair.

He had never noticed how much he missed those small things.

But even if he wanted to stay like that, he knew he had something to do.

So, with a small grunt, he pushed himself to stand on his feet. He got an Hokage to talk to and a world to save.

•*•*•*•*•

Shisui knew where Konoha was. 

If he woke up at the same location of Naruto's death, that would mean he was already in the fire country, more precisely at the South of the village hidden in the leaves.

So he went North.

He didn't bother using any justu to go faster, he wanted to take as much time as possible to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Don't judge him, the behavior is quite normal when you understand that there were almost no trees left after the war. The jutsus that were used during that time were astronomical. The thought that people were actually able to survive that was absolutely crazy.

So it was an understatement that the landscape was quite new for the teen. He walked for about three hours at a civilian pace. Never once tiring up or stopping to take a break.

If his memories were rights, which they certainly were, he was only a few miles away from Konoha. He calmly made his way in that direction, thoughts drifting into space.

But he suddenly stopped.

His mind was thinking of what to do once he would have set a foot in the village. Then he noticed that it would be a terrible idea to go there the way he was now.

Like honestly, how would the guards, or in fact anyone react if they saw Shisui Uchiha casually walk past the gates of Konohagakure?

Badly, that's for sure.

'I'm stupid' He deadpanned.

So, with a sigh, Shisui henged himself and made a short detour to a civilian village where he *cough* *cough* borrowed a huge ass black coat.

He will be damned if the Hokage didn't notice the henge, so at least the black coat would prevent that.

'...Wait... wouldn't that make me even MORE suspicious?'

"..."

You know what? He wasn't in the mood to deal with this. 

At first he thought he could act as civilian to pass the gates incognito, but fuck it. They will notice anyway so why not just go for it.

And that's exactly what he did.

He dashed at his top speed utilizing continuous shushin to go even faster.

He was called Shushin No Shisui for Christ's sake!

He passed the gates with no problem, way too fast for anyone to see anything other than a blur. Giving absolutely zero fuck, he crashed through the open window of the Hokage office.

The anbus were on him in a matter of seconds, each pointing a kunai to his throat.

Shisui, still in his henge and black coat, rose his arms up in the air to show that he meant no harms. And then, the teen made eye contact with a very shocked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"...op! ...et...away...rom..me!!"

"I...an't... I'm...orry....ensei..."

iM sO soRry.

His gaze quickly landed on the floor,  
Putting the images far away in the back of his mind.

He suddenly remembered that he literally broke in one of the most heavily guarded place in Konoha. With regrets and a tiny bit of nervousness, he bowed in front of his Hokage. He had been in anbu when he was alive so it was like a second nature to show respect to his leader. 

That, and he was also glad to finally see someone he recognized that was well and alive.

...He had a hard time looking at the man in the eyes though.

After a few moments of silence, Hiruzen gave his personal anbus a sign to lower their weapon, deeming that the stranger wasn't an immediate threat.

He stared at the stranger in disbelief before coughing and regaining his composure. Even if this boy wasn't going to attack anytime soon, his presence still isn't justified. "May I ask who you are?" 

His voice was exactly how Shisui remembered: firm and strict, with a small tad of gentleness that only come with age.

That somewhat made him at ease.

The teen straightened his back, his face impassive. Even if he had absolute trust in his Hokage, that didn't mean he could drop his guard. People were watching. He had to be very careful with his words.

"I cannot disclose this information now Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. This was very unusual. "And why is that?".

"They are too many ears listening, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen nodded.

His gut feeling told him that the boy didn't have any bad intentions, and Hiruzen trusted his gut feeling.

He knew the young man wanted a private audience, it was easily understandable. He motioned to his personal anbu to leave the room, which they did, although not without sneaking suspicious glances at the teen as they passed by him.

Now they were alone in the office.

The old man stared at the other one. He noticed the simple henge he had on him.

'Why?'

But before he could ask the question, Shisui beat him to it.

"Hokage-sama, could you please activate the privacy seals? I wish to only speak with you and cannot afford the risk of someone spying on us." 

Now that made Hiruzen curious.

'Only anbus, clan heads and a few elite jonins know that, who is he?'

As if reading his thoughts, the teen gave the older man a small tired smile. "Please, trust me on this, Hokage-sama."

Shisui was sure that if Root, or even worst Danzo had any idea of his existence, all hell would broke loose.

Figuratively speaking.

Of course.

Anyway, the Hokage complied and activated the privacy seals. What would be said in the office, would stay in the office.

Hiruzen then returned his attention on the intruder, voice strict but betraying the genuine curiosity he had for the entire situation. "Now would you tell me why you are disguised behind an henge in my presence?"

Shisui gave a small chuckle. He removed his coat and released his henge, leaving the Hokage to see what he really look like.

Behind all this disguise stood a boy, no older than seventeen, adorning short curly black hair and bottomless pitch black eyes with amazing eyelashes.

Hiruzen stared at him, something about this teen was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Then his eyes widened.

'Pale skin, black hair, black eyes... is he-'

"Are you an Uchiha?" That was a dumb question, everybody knows that there are only two Uchiha left-

"Yes."

The almighty Hiruzen Sarutobi spluttered. He stood up. "But that's impossible! There is only two Uchihas left!" But inside, he somewhat knew it wasn't false. That boy was just too familiar. Where did he knew him from?

"What... is your first name?"

Shisui was disappointed. He knew it's been a while, but he really thought the Hokage would be able to recognize him. After all, he was one of the only Uchihas who were actually loyal to the village. But he guessed he shouldn't be surprised, Hiruzen was very old.

He sighed. "And here I thought I was unforgettable. That's sad, I really believed you would know who I was as soon as I undid the henge." He chuckled quietly. "I guess I took too much precautions, my bad."

The Hokage stared at the teen. Brain working ultra fast to review every shinobi he had. After some time, he searched the name of each Uchiha he knew in the deepest part of his mind.

It suddenly clicked.

'No... That's impossible!' But everything lead to him. There is no way that the boy in front of him isn't this shinobi. But at the same time, how?! He clearly d.i.e.d.! And that was even before the Uchiha massacre!

"Shisui... is that you?"

The raven let a smile slip in. He was visibly pleased with the answer.

"Yeah, Hokage-sama. Took you long enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, i can’t write in cursive. I can’t make words stand out. I have no idea how to, the writing automatically make every words normal. I’ll probably edit this chapter later to add the cursives and bold letters in this.


End file.
